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Thread: Princesses, Spys, and Assassins, oh my!

  1. #1
    NorseThing's Avatar Primicerius
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    Default Princesses, Spys, and Assassins, oh my!

    Agents: You can't lie with them and you can't live without them.

     
    After about 25 turns it seems there becomes a glut of agents in the game. The computer has nothing further of substance to do with the agents. The immediate tasks are either done or not important for the computer factions to pursue. I can see why the Saga release of "Thrones of Britannia" decided to eliminate the agent mess to give players an alternative to playing the agent game. So if the computer has a surplus of agents, do the human players do as well? So I have an interest of playing the agent game better. I am going to share a bit of my agent game play and hope some members with superior skills will share with use better play in the agent game. Humorous results are welcomed as well.

    How many diplomats do you tend to recruit and then actively use? Do you have any master plan? I tend to as a faction to post one in Italy fairly quick to deal of course with the Papal issues and also dealing with the local Italian factions (Milan, Venice, Sicily, and the Holy Roman Empire). Yes, even the non-Catholic factions should do this. Papal influence is import to all factions. Then probably one eastern and one western at large diplomat. After the first several turns, they do tend to sit quite a bit after the initial frenzy of trade relationship building is finished. Other than a key alliance or map information bit of diplomacy, they become a cost sink for me. On rare occasions I can snag a valuable high rated princess for my prince to make a stronger alliance. The diplomats are important to cancel treaties and tributes (I am repeating myself here) before planned hostilities. This is a rare use of a diplomat though. I am certain other members play the diplomacy game better than I. So what are my alternatives to keep these nobles busy and productive?
     
    What about the spys and assassination networks? Do you over recruit? Do you kill them off through the course of natural attrition as they fail to perform? Do you make your spys and assassins work and perform every turn or do you give them a rest and then have a burst of activity? To be honest, other than the Italian factions, I seldom ever need more than one assassin in the game. I dislike the dread effects on my faction leader and this is doubly true if qthe faction leader is young and quite capable with finance.
     
    I am pretty certain the human players do not simply let their princesses age with grace, do you? The computer seems to have a knack at taking a 3 or 4 charming rated lovely thing and turning the princess into a charmless hag in a very short time. The computer offers from the faction princesses must be truly unreasonable for this sad state of affairs to exist. But then as a the game progresses new princesses come of age to replace the old. Do you groom them up or simply marry them off to get another general? Do you believe any general is better than any princess? I have not tested them on face to face combat, but there seems to be a charm to the princess that is most obviously lacking in the most basic general.
     
    Every player seems to have a perfect play for the first few turns with your princesses, but do you have a standard plan for all your future princesses? Do you even keep track of your future princesses via the family tree screen? Do you express surprise when you happen to discover a princess just sitting and waiting in a settlement for what might have been ages? Or do you have a surprise as you pop thru the agent scroll to make certain all agents have done someting before the turn ends? Yes that's right. I do pop through the agent scroll, the settlement scroll, and the military force scroll each and every turn. This is easy with the first few turns, but becomes a chore by turn 25 with every faction as the agents alone are now a huge task.
     
    This brings up the generals which are not really agents, though they do have some of the same advantages such as spying the local rebel stacks, improving the Papal rating (or not) with how prisoners are dealt with after battle, leadership to keep your faction fighting a battle, or dreaded fear that results in the enemy breaking during combat. Do you groom some general for chivalry bonuses to improve settlement growth. Do some just stay in the settlements just because they are actively disloyal. Do they lead an army and you, the council of nobles, and the king just hope for the best? Or are your generals just giant combat units that do not need support as they terrorize the country side?
     
    Let's hear your favorite uses of agents. Also any interesting circumstances you may want to share from a past campaign can fit in here as some sort of a single post After Action Report focused on the agents.

  2. #2
    UndrState's Avatar Centenarius
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    Default Re: Princesses, Spys, and Assassins, oh my!

    I tend to produce many diplomats . I like to where possible have at least one dip for each of my early allies . Later , one dip per nation . I try and play chivalrous so no spy or assassins ( I permit myself any starting spy ) , but I spam priests with an eye to flip non-catholic regions ( priest-bombing ) and dominating the cardinals college .

    I kinda wished there was a guild for dips , 'cause even a good bankroll and Reputation can't buy you somethings I think you should . Love to train up the Princesses and snatch up goodfellas where possible , though the family name bug bugs me .

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